The Dogs of Toronto Animal Services South

Five Labradoodle puppies came into Toronto Animal Services on the weekend. They were from a breeder who for some reason decided he didn't want them anymore and while it's irresponsible to breed dogs for profit only to dump them, at least these pups are plump, healthy and, for the most part, happy - a change from the puppy mill pups we see too often.

Four of these pups, I can't tell apart other than by the colour of their collars. The fifth one, who might be the runt (I use that term in the nicest way possible because, frankly, the fifth is adorable), looks like he's from another set of parents. There are too many pictures for me to all get processed for one post, so I'll do one puppy a day. This will be Labradoodle puppy week then.

Here's the first. This one is a very stable pup, mature for his age but very sociable with both dogs and people. I suspect this one will be snatched up immediately. For the person who wants a Labradoodle, someone is going to be spectacularly lucky.

For adoption information on this dog and other dogs (and cats and other animals), please visit Toronto Animal Services.

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A request

The reason for this blog is to help get specific dogs adopted from TAS but equally important is to try to normalize the idea of shelter dogs being just as good and just as desirable as any other dogs including those which are regularly merchandised by backyard breeders, puppy millers and those few remaining pet store owners who still feel a need to sell live animals. The single greatest stigma shelter animals still face is the belief that shelter animals are substandard animals. Anyone who has had enough experience with shelter animals knows this is untrue but the general public hasn't had the same experiences you've had. They see a nice dog photo in a glossy magazine and too many of them would never think of associating that dog with a dog from a shelter. After all, no one abandons perfectly good dogs, right? Unfortunately, as we all know, perfectly good dogs are abandoned all the time.

The public still too often associates shelter dogs with images of beat up, sick, dirty, severely traumatized animals and while we definitely sometimes see victims such as these, they are certainly not the majority and, regardless, even the most abused animals can very often be saved and made whole again.

Pound Dogs sometimes discusses the sad histories some of the dogs have suffered. For the most part, though, it tries to present the dogs not as victims but as great potential family members. The goal is to raise the profiles of animals in adoption centers so that a potential pet owner sees them as the best choice, not just as the charity choice.

So, here's the favour I'm asking. Whenever you see a dog picture on these pages you think is decent enough, I'd like you to consider sharing it on Facebook or any other social media sites you're using (I know many of you do this already and thank you for that). And when you share it, please mention that the dog in the photo is a shelter dog like so many other shelter dogs waiting for a home. If we can get even five percent of the pet buying public to see shelter dogs differently, to see how beautiful they are and how wonderful they are, and to consider shelter dogs as their first choice for a new family member, we can end the suffering of homeless pets in this country.-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------